Bit-patterned media (BPM) is seen as a way to increase areal recording density as compared to recording on a continuous media. In a BPM, magnetic material on a disc is patterned into small isolated blocks or islands such that there is a single magnetic domain in each island or “bit.” The media may be fabricated so that there is no magnetic material in the regions between each bit. The single magnetic domains can be a single grain or a plurality of strongly coupled grains that switch magnetic states in concert as a single magnetic volume. This is in contrast to continuous magnetic media wherein a single “bit” may have multiple magnetic domains separated by domain walls. Unlike a continuous media, a BPM includes bits at fixed, predefined locations. Writing to each fixed bit location entails precise timing of a magnetic write pulse generated by a recording head.
According to one implementation, a heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) storage device includes a controller that selects a heat source power level for writing data to a target data track based on whether the target data track is bounded by one or more data-storing tracks. According to another implementation, a storage device calculates an expected write error rate based on environmental conditions within the storage device and selects between a first region and a second region to write data of a write command based on the expected write error rate.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. These and various other features and advantages will be apparent from a reading of the following Detailed Description.